Signed Papers!

Today we signed the papers on our home. Our 2 years of renting and working to pay off debt have finally paid off (Thanks Dave Ramsey)! We have paid off over $40,000 in debt working extra jobs and cutting the budget every way possible in order to get back to a position where we can buy a house! We decided we wanted to build a house so we could get exactly what we wanted. We ended up working with four different builders before we committed to the winner.

1. HiLine Homes - Our first builder we checked out, almost went with them too. They had great floor plans, great customer service, great prices... the only catch was we needed a 15% down-payment in addition to closing costs! That would come to about $35000. We didn't have that, and saving it would have taken us into next summer before we could move in! (over a year)
2. Adair Homes - Great floor plans, average prices, but very slow on responding to our questions, and even after many request, not really willing to give out prices until we were 100% committed to the house, lot, and everything. We weren't to comfortable with that.
3. Hayden Homes - Great financing options here! Only required about 3% down, much better than the 15 from HiLine! We even found two floor plans that looked really nice. But when we walked through a model home we found the kitchen to be very small, in fact, many of the rooms were much smaller than the competitors for the same price
4. AHO Homes - We originally found a one-store plan that we loved, but when we saw the model we decided against it. But the surprise was falling in love with a 2-story home! 4 bedrooms, 2.5 bath, and a bonus room (and a kitchen many women, including my wife, would kill for!) We were sold on it! And with zero down financing (due to equity in the home once it is built!) we decided to apply for the loan!

So we contacted a bank that AHO homes suggested. We filled out th application on Monday and were told we would have an answer by Thursday. On Thursday we were told we would have an answer by Friday at the latest. Monday was a holiday and the bank was closed. Tuesday we still hadn't heard anything. Sometimes I think it would have been better for him to say 2 weeks and have an answer in 9 days rather than say 3 days and have an answer in 9 days. Either way, on Wednesday we received word that our loan had been approved! We were getting a house!

Click here for floorplan! (we are getting the optional kitchen with island!)

Two days later we met with AHO homes and signed the paper work. They estimate it will take about 10 weeks to build! I will try and keep this blog updated with pictures as the house is built! We are told our foundation may be laid with-in a week!